Apple's new top-of-the-line 27-inch iMac with an Intel Core i7 processor has shown up dead on arrival or with a cracked screen for some who have purchased.

In addition to threads on the Apple Discussions support section (1, 2) Engadget also received a quad-core machine that would not boot when taken out of the box.

For some, the iMac chimes when the power button is pressed, but the screen displays nothing. Various users on Apple's support forums have expressed frustration that they returned their iMac and are now waiting an estimated two weeks for a replacement machine.

There are also a handful of reports of cracks on the bottom left corner of the screen of the new iMac. Various customers said the box containing their new system arrived in excellent condition, only to remove the packaging and discover the hardware had been damaged. It has led some to speculate that there is a flaw in the current packaging that causes the screen to crack in the bottom left corner.

"There's no apparent damage to the styrofoam or box so it looks like that's a weak spot in the screen and how they are being packed in the boxes," user 'scopro' said. "Hopefully Apple will improve their packaging for these larger iMacs as it may take until Dec. 7 for my replacement to arrive."

The new 2.8GHz Intel Core i7 860 processor-equipped 27-inch iMacs are available as a $200 built-to-order option, which means they are not available in Apple retail stores. Apple also offers a 2.66 GHz Core i5 750 iMac with a suggested retail price of $1,999. Both quad-core machines began shipping earlier this month and include 8MB of L3 cache.

The newly redesigned iMac includes a large 16:9 screen with a 2560x1440 pixel resolution. It offers a capacity of 16GB of RAM and comes standard with a wireless keyboard and the new Magic Mouse.

Discounted prices on the new iMac systems are available via the AppleInsider Mac Pricing Guide:

I COULD see where there could be some DOA systems due to some different configuration inside of the iMacs as compared to the other models.

The cracked screens make ZERO sense to me.

If screens are cracked, maybe other people that have iMacs should be concerned. That glass to the edge of the computer could be susceptible.

The cracked glass sounds like poor packaging to me in the box. I mean, the 27" is a rather large and heavy unit -- I haven't seen iMac packaging, but traditional Apple product packaging is pretty minimalistic.

The cracked glass sounds like poor packaging to me in the box. I mean, the 27" is a rather large and heavy unit -- I haven't seen iMac packaging, but traditional Apple product packaging is pretty minimalistic.

I have one (an i7) - the packaging is fairly minimalistic. It is just 4 pieces of styrofoam, one in each corner.

But as minimal as it is, it is *in the corners.* So I can't understand where this idea came from about the packaging not protecting the corners. Or perhaps people are saying it is stressing the corners, since that's where the weight it borne. But looking at it I can't see any immediate problem...

I have one (an i7) - the packaging is fairly minimalistic. It is just 4 pieces of styrofoam, one in each corner.

But as minimal as it is, it is *in the corners.* So I can't understand where this idea came from about the packaging not protecting the corners. Or perhaps people are saying it is stressing the corners, since that's where the weight it borne. But looking at it I can't see any immediate problem...

If all it has are four styrofoam blocks in the corners, that's not enough IMHO. You might as well treat it as a 27" TV -- I don't think I've ever seen a 27" or large TV that has shipped with four corner blocks. They always have a "full frame" block that cradles at least the top, and sides -- the bottom is normally left open due to the TV stand.

I'm no engineer, but I would think that having more styrofoam coverage would allow shocking forces to spread more evenly rather than being concentrated at the corner blocks that Apple uses.

That's true, but then they'd be garbage by comparison and no one would have bought them at all, so yeah, you're right, it wouldn't have.

WRONG- more would have bought them, like all of us who've refused to buy over the last 2years. I don't know anybody who says" Ooohh, I just love that glare- I wanna buy it just for that!" Glare/high gloss is not a selling point.

I don't think I've ever seen a 27" or large TV that has shipped with four corner blocks. They always have a "full frame" block that cradles at least the top, and sides -- the bottom is normally left open due to the TV stand.

You might as well treat it as a 27" TV -- I don't think I've ever seen a 27" or large TV that has shipped with four corner blocks. They always have a "full frame" block that cradles at least the top, and sides -- the bottom is normally left open due to the TV stand.

I'm no engineer, but I would think that having more styrofoam coverage would allow shocking forces to spread more evenly rather than being concentrated at the corner blocks that Apple uses.

I don't know any TV that has a glass plate over the entire front surface either- and I'm talking plasma and LCD. We're talking more like an aquarium here and that needs to be completely shipped in styrofoam and extremely delicate shipping. What a mistake.

Got mine yesterday. The foam blocks are quite large (9"x9"x7"). No cracks. No boot problems. Fastest out of box to up and running experience I've ever had. Still need to mount the VESA adapter to it and hang it from Ergotron arm.

The screen is gorgeous. And I think I like the mouse. Migration of my account from Macbook went well (had to create a faux account on iMac because you can't transfer same named users running as that user).

Got mine yesterday. The foam blocks are quite large (9"x9"x7"). No cracks. No boot problems. Fastest out of box to up and running experience I've ever had. Still need to mount the VESA adapter to it and hang it from Ergotron arm.

The screen is gorgeous. And I think I like the mouse. Migration of my account from Macbook went well (had to create a faux account on iMac because you can't transfer same named users running as that user).

Got mine yesterday. The foam blocks are quite large (9"x9"x7"). No cracks. No boot problems. Fastest out of box to up and running experience I've ever had. Still need to mount the VESA adapter to it and hang it from Ergotron arm.

That is the genius of the iMac- that out of the box, up and running experience. Nothing else beats it.

WRONG- more would have bought them, like all of us who've refused to buy over the last 2years. I don't know anybody who says" Ooohh, I just love that glare- I wanna buy it just for that!" Glare/high gloss is not a selling point.

It is a selling point for people who don't know better, or live in caves.

WRONG- more would have bought them, like all of us who've refused to buy over the last 2years. I don't know anybody who says" Ooohh, I just love that glare- I wanna buy it just for that!" Glare/high gloss is not a selling point.

No, they say, wow look at those deep blacks and really nice contrast. I don't care what the matte-fans say, glossy screens look WAY nicer to me and everyone I talk to.... and 95% of the public does not care about your color accurate publishing work.

I don't know any TV that has a glass plate over the entire front surface either- and I'm talking plasma and LCD. We're talking more like an aquarium here and that needs to be completely shipped in styrofoam and extremely delicate shipping. What a mistake.

Those Plasma screens are made out of glass and all LCDs have a thin layer of glass behind the top plastic layer. The reason that most LCDs have a plastic top layer is to prevent glass shards from going everywhere when they break because the glass is so thin. The thick layer of glass on the iMac should be far less susceptible to breaking. This is definitely a manufacturing or packaging problem.

Just for reference, the Apple 24" LCD Monitor I purchased to go with a MacBook last year, which is also glass, was packed in a totally enveloping styrofoam two part case within two outer cardboard boxes, the printed one then a strong plain brown one. It was very sturdy indeed.

From Apple ][ - to new Mac Pro I've owned them all.Long on AAPL so biased"Google doesn't sell you anything, Google just sells you!"

Those Plasma screens are made out of glass and all LCDs have a thin layer of glass behind the top plastic layer. The reason that most LCDs have a plastic top layer is to prevent glass shards from going everywhere when they break because the glass is so thin. The thick layer of glass on the iMac should be far less susceptible to breaking. This is definitely a manufacturing or packaging problem.

I know that. The glass still does not go edge to edge like these new iMacs.

No, they say, wow look at those deep blacks and really nice contrast. I don't care what the matte-fans say, glossy screens look WAY nicer to me and everyone I talk to.... and 95% of the public does not care about your color accurate publishing work.

Not to mention that there were major strides with the color accuracy of the 27" model. I'm sure it is more accurate (with the gloss lines) then any matte screen you will find. The glass isn't that reflective anyway. It is much better then the glossy plastic models. The glass makes it more durable (excluding the present situation) and much easier to clean. In a school or office environment you don't need to worry about someone using windex or ammonia on the LCD screen.

No, they say, wow look at those deep blacks and really nice contrast. I don't care what the matte-fans say, glossy screens look WAY nicer to me and everyone I talk to.... and 95% of the public does not care about your color accurate publishing work.

Not to mention that there were major strides with the color accuracy of the 27" model. I'm sure it is more accurate (with the gloss lines) then any matte screen you will find. The glass isn't that reflective anyway. It is much better then the glossy plastic models. The glass makes it more durable (excluding the present situation) and much easier to clean. In a school or office environment you don't need to worry about someone using windex or ammonia on the LCD screen.

The widescreen adds even more glare than the prior model- the larger the glass, the more the glare.
Glass only works on small- i.e. the iPhone.

Got mine yesterday. The foam blocks are quite large (9"x9"x7"). No cracks. No boot problems. Fastest out of box to up and running experience I've ever had. Still need to mount the VESA adapter to it and hang it from Ergotron arm.

The screen is gorgeous. And I think I like the mouse. Migration of my account from Macbook went well (had to create a faux account on iMac because you can't transfer same named users running as that user).

bassetbob, thanks for letting us know about your experience!!
Even though I plan on getting the i5 it is good to know that this issue with the i7 exists. Maybe a q.c. team from the i5 factory could go to the i7 factory and try to see where the problem is. I am very curious to see how fast Apple reacts to this dilemma and comes up with a solution.

bassetbob, thanks for letting us know about your experience!!
Even though I plan on getting the i5 it is good to know that this issue with the i7 exists. Maybe a q.c. team from the i5 factory could go to the i7 factory and try to see where the problem is. I am very curious to see how fast Apple reacts to this dilemma and comes up with a solution.

Seems like their even skimping on the styrofoam now to keep up that AlGore environmental rating. It will be interesting to see what happens. I'm suprised their not using balsa wood or excelsior.

bassetbob, thanks for letting us know about your experience!!
Even though I plan on getting the i5 it is good to know that this issue with the i7 exists. Maybe a q.c. team from the i5 factory could go to the i7 factory and try to see where the problem is. I am very curious to see how fast Apple reacts to this dilemma and comes up with a solution.

Out of interest, are you prepared to comment on why, with a price differential of US$200, you are interested in an i5 over an i7? (Sorry - just a brief detour!)

I know that. The glass still does not go edge to edge like these new iMacs.

Good point. I still don't understand why they did that on the iMac.

BTW, teckstud, I saw the27" iMac in Fry's the other day and tried to see how the store lighting affected the glare and I must say I am not sure I can completely agree with you on that one. Of course that could be because of the crap systems I have had to put up with for the last 10+ years. They were so bad that the glare you talk about on the iMac glass screen may have possibly gone unnoticed.

No, they say, wow look at those deep blacks and really nice contrast. I don't care what the matte-fans say, glossy screens look WAY nicer to me and everyone I talk to.... and 95% of the public does not care about your color accurate publishing work.

... doesn't mean everyone does.

It's actually about a 50/50 split on the gloss/no-glare question.

If there's a choice between a gloss screen and no computer at all, I'd wager most would prefer a new computer. I hardly consider that a "choice".

Some work spaces, like mine, are impossible to reconfigure to cut down on screen glare, which is terrible for the eyes. I bought a 26" ViewSonic VP2650wb monitor with a non-glare screen, instead of the Apple 24", to use with my MacBook Pro, because of that issue alone.

While not an ideal solution , a $50 anti-glare screen option would make sense, especially if you're spending $2000 for a machine like the 27" iMac with that huge plate of glass.